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| - I came here with a slightly odd combination of diners - my husband, his parents, and my cousin and his girlfriend. Yet between the food and ambiance, I had a great time.
One of my complaints during my time living in Toronto was that there wasn't much memorable food. Granted, when I was a student I would in no way have been able to afford to eat here, but now for a special occasion I'd highly recommend it. Scott Conant got rave reviews when Scarpetta opened in New York, and finally, another great chef has opted to open up an outpost to the north.
The restaurant is located in the Thompson hotel and is all forms of swanky. The booths are round and go around a serpentine piece of wood. The interior is very modern yet also airy.
We were promptly served delicious homemade bread with tapenade and a delicious butter-mascarpone spread. We split a few appetizers, including the Tuna "susci" and the hamachi crudo. Both were really fresh and delicious. My husband and his dad opted to split a squid dish and were also fans of that.
Now, for the entree there weren't too many non-meat options, so I stuck with the spaghetti with tomato & basil. I'm not the biggest fan of basil, and I usually opt for thinner pastas than spaghetti, so I didn't know how well this would fly. But no, this is what pasta is, people. It was a perfect al dente - not too mushy, but also not too hard. The sauce was luscious and creamy and the basil tasted fresh and didn't overpower the sauce in the slightest. And while the portion size is not nearly as large as what you'll get at a generic red-sauce restaurant, it was still plenty large to fill me up.
Everyone else also enjoyed their dishes, though I can't recall exactly what they ordered. The service was very attentive and our water glasses were constantly refilled.
The meal wound up being pricey since some members of our group chose to have wine or cocktails (when we eat out solo, J & I rarely order drinks) but the entrees themselves were on the high side of moderate. The only other fine-ish dining place I've been to in TO is Susur Lee's Lee, so I'd definitely be up for adding Scarpetta to my "special occasion Toronto eateries."
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